After working on the scripts for ‘Thor: The Dark World’ and ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (due in 2017), screenwriter Christopher Yost will be delving into similar territory with another muscular blond warrior in a fantasy world.  Sony and Escape Artist have hired Yost to pen the script for ‘Masters of the Universe’ a film that has been rumored to be in the works for decades.  Will Prince Adam and his mystical cohorts finally revisit the the silver screen?  Not even The Sorceress could foresee that at this point, but it’s a positive step nonetheless.

Last we heard, Jeff Wadlow (‘Kick Ass 2′) had completed a script for the franchise but for Columbia Pictures.  Prior to that, Jon M. Chu (‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’, ‘Jem and the Holograms‘) sought to adapt the property and several others came before that.

Christopher Yost

Yost is no stranger to super beings, cutting his teeth on numerous Marvel animated series including ‘X-Men: Evolution’, ‘Wolderine and the X-Men’, ‘Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes’ and ‘Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ as well as ‘The Batman’ and ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.’  He also provided the script for another toy adaptation, ‘Max Steel.’

‘Masters of the Universe’ was one of the most popular toy lines of the 80s, fusing fantasy and science fiction on the war torn alien world Eternia, where the evil sorcerer Skeletor attempted to rule the entire planet by unlocking the secrets held within the magical stronghold Castle Greyskull.  Opposing him was He-Man, a powerful warrior with a mystic sword that granted him incredible strength.  Both were assisted by colorful allies who each had their own super abilities which just so happened made for nifty action features for their toy counterparts.

Filmation produced a syndicated cartoon based on the toys which became the highest rated kids show of the era and was so popular it spawned a cinematic animated film, ‘The Secret of the Sword’ and a live action flick, starring Dolph Lundgren as He-Man and Frank Langella as Skeletor as well as an unknown Courtney Cox as Julie an Earth girl who befriends He-Man and his partners.  The film deviated a great deal from the cartoon and was a financial disappointment, but retains a guilty pleasure status today.

Other 80s toy franchises have enjoyed varying degrees of success as contemporary movie franchises like ‘G.I. Joe’ and ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles‘ and of course ‘Transformers‘ is a bonafied phenomenon raking in billions, despite the fact that I’ve never heard a single person say they like them.

Perhaps the biggest flaw with the 1987 film was that it was set mostly on Earth with the supernatural heroes and villains’ battle spilling over to the “real world” rather than presenting an intriguing alien world inhabited by unique and visually striking beings.  Though the script isn’t completely written yet, it’s said that the movie will be set entirely on Eternia and more specifically, the mysterious Castle Greyskull.  That’s promising at least.  Maybe this time the film will actually get made.

What do you think?  Will ‘Masters of the Universe’ actually happen?  If so, what would you like it to be about?  And which characters would you most like to see on the big screen?

Source: Cinema Blend